The Queen Mother's four grandsons held a symbolic vigil around her coffin in Westminster Hall last night on the eve of her funeral across the road at Westminster Abbey.

Princes Charles, Andrew and Edward and Viscount Linley, the son of Princess Margaret, took their places at the four corners of the two-metre high catafalque in the ancient hall for 20 minutes, watched by Princess Anne and other junior members of the royal family, as members of the public filed past.

The watching party, standing on a dais, also included princes William and Harry; Peter Phillips, Princess Anne's son; Commander Timothy Laurence, her husband, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

The princes' gesture was a reminder of a vigil in the same hall in January 1936 by the four sons of King George V after his death, though on that occasion it was out of public sight.

This vigil too had been scheduled for when the hall was closed but the press of the public was too great. For a fourth night the hall was remaining open until 6am to allow the last few thousand people to pay their respects.

A steady stream of members of the public were filing past the coffin when in late afternoon the four grandsons emerged at the top of a flight of stairs on one side of the hall.

Slowly, the princes descended. Andrew came first in the dress uniform of a Royal Navy commander, followed by Viscount Linley, in morning dress, then Prince Charles in even more gold braid as a rear-admiral and finally Edward, also in morning dress.

They crossed the hall and sidled into place beside the elderly members of the Royal Company of Archers, the Queen's ceremonial bodyguard when she is in Scotland, who had been keeping watch until then.

Silently, the archers, dressed in their dark green uniforms and tam-o'-shanters garnished with red bobbles and long feathers, filed away, taking their longbows with them.

With heads bowed and hands clasped in front of them, the princes stood silently as the police guard changed - an irresistibly Gilbert and Sullivan moment as 11 officers paraded through one behind the other in stately fashion, gloved hands behind back - and the crowd surged on.

For those who had arrived at the back of the queue six hours before, the presence of the princes was a bonus that made the wait all the more worthwhile. "It's history in the making. I feel full of emotion," said one.

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